The Real Life Travails of Workers Compensation and Liability Insurance

By: Bob Barrow
Date: 9/1/2007

Usually, my articles are about could-a-been's, shoulda- been's or heard-about's, which has proved to be a very good way of expressing a story from the safety of the sidelines.

Last week, as I went about my usual fifty balls in the air daily routine, I received a call from my son, Jeff, that made my hair stand on end (yes, all twelve of them). To say he was a 'little rattled,' does not quite tell the whole story. Jeff, a responsible twenty-eight year-old with his own business in pool maintenance, was on what is considered a routinely 'complicated' repair involving plumbing, electricity and pure brute force.

Because of the targeted problem's location, he had been forced to sit in an Indian style crouch under mature holly bushes that backed on to a retaining wall behind him. As the day wore on and the heat increased, he became painfully aware of the spiders and ants that were exploring his damp ankles and legs.With the onset of darkness (could this job get any worse?), he heard a slight rustling in the English ivy (that ran under the holly bushes). The rustling progressed to a peculiar sort of soft buzzing sound; then, almost immediately, it became a loud, echoing, buzzing rattle.

Never having seen or heard a rattlesnake, he was unsure what to think, but think, he did...and quickly, too! He asked his employee, Josh, if he had noticed anything, but Josh was preoccupied with another aspect of the job, so he answered," No." Trying not to become paranoid or scare Josh, he shrugged off what he suspected was a small branch from the holly bush...Within seconds, though, everything happened at once: Josh started yelling, "Whoa! Jeff, get up, get outta' there!"

Jeff, understanding the gist of Justin's wild gesturing, realized the danger he was in and sprung forward, and out of the way. His tools went flying...pliers, saw, screwdrivers, channel locks - all in a panicked sort of Monty Python's Flying Circus air-show.

With Jeff now safely out of harms way, Josh got his first look at the huge timber rattlesnake as it stuck out its' sizeable head (an inch and a half in circumference) from the breaker box. Then, he saw the rest of it...all six feet of it! It had been lurking eight inches from his left shoulder, poised and ready to do its worst. The really awful part was that he had been sitting on or around the snake's territory for most of the day.

As he flicked a quick look over his shoulder, Jeff saw the rattlesnake slithering away, off into the woods. Having regained his composure, he returned to complete the job...this time, however, much more warily. He is even a little "rattled" now when he sees a poor little toad on the road. Oh, well, the jumping exercises are good for him - for Jeff, that is; the toad does enough hopping.

In the days that followed, we, as a family, were obsessed with the horrific reality of the situation. As all the different versions of the same scenario played over, and over in our minds, we came to terms with the narrow escape he'd had: what if he had been working alone, what if Josh had failed to act so intelligently....

Now that a little more time has passed - beyond the emotional and physical aspects- we consider the situation from a business standpoint. Bad situations are so much worse if the importance of workers' compensation and liability protection is not an integral part of the business owner's mentality. What a wake-up call!

When starting any new business, the expenses just keep adding up, making it easy to focus on the expenses that complain if they're not paid. Insurance, by its very nature, is an intangible that is largely ignored until the need for it screams out, but by then it's too late!

Life is a game, and it is important that we learn how to play it well! After all, the insurance company is betting that nothing will happen so that it can profit from the insured's premiums; while the insured is betting that something could happen so that his premiums won't be wasted It's really all a bit sick and twisted, isn't it?

With adequate insurance coverage, if an accident happens life goes on pretty much as usual for the business owner; however, without insurance, if an employee gets hurt 'on the job,' you could be supporting his family, and lose your business, your house, your car and anything else of value that you own.

Perhaps, now, Jeff realizes why "the old man" (being me), has insisted that he understand the importance of balancing risk with protection. It is not "...do I need it?" But, rather, "...how much do I need?"

Bob Barrow CIC, CWCA is the President of Barrow Group, LLC. He can be contacted by calling 800.874.4798, or by email bbarrow@barrowgroup.com, or visit www.barrowgroup.com.